Work out what the Overseas Housing Allowance actually covers against your rent. Unlike BAH, OHA reimburses actual rent up to a ceiling, so renting below it forfeits the difference. Covers the rental ceiling, utility allowance, shared units, and MIHA move-in costs.
Rates last verified September 2026 against the published source tables.
The difference from BAH is the one that costs money: BAH is a flat rate you keep whatever your rent, while OHA reimburses what you actually pay up to a ceiling. Rent below the ceiling and the unused portion is forfeited, not banked — so an economical lease overseas saves the government money rather than the member. Rent above it and the excess comes out of pocket.
OHA has three parts. The rental allowance covers rent up to the ceiling for your grade and location; the utility allowance is a separate flat figure for utilities and recurring maintenance; and MIHA is a one-time move-in payment for the costs of setting up a household overseas — deposits, transformers, fittings. Sharing a unit with another member splits the ceiling rather than doubling it.
Rental allowance. Reimburses the rent on an approved lease up to a ceiling set for your pay grade and DTMO locality. It is a cap on actual rent, not a stipend: rent below the ceiling is simply never paid, rent above it is yours.
Utility and recurring maintenance allowance. A flat monthly figure, one per country, paid whatever the bills come to. This is the part that works like BAH, which is why the rental part is so often assumed to work the same way.
MIHA/Miscellaneous. A one-time payment on moving into private housing, one figure per country, no receipts. MIHA/Rent and MIHA/Security exist beside it and are claimed against documented costs through the housing office.
DTMO publishes one table per country — with-dependents ceilings in local currency by locality and grade group, plus the utility allowance, MIHA and the exchange rate applied. Members without dependents receive 90% of the with-dependents ceiling. The lookup on this page reads those tables for seven countries; for any other, enter the figures from the DTMO rate lookup.
The dollar figure moves with the pay-system exchange rate, which DTMO reviews on the 1st and 16th of every month, while the local-currency ceiling stays put between rental surveys. A figure from this page is the ceiling as of the snapshot it was built from; the housing office holds the current one.
The gap between your rent and the ceiling. OHA reimburses what you actually pay, up to a ceiling. Rent below the ceiling is not paid to anyone — unlike BAH, the difference is forfeited rather than kept, which is why renting well under the ceiling is a decision worth making deliberately.
Rent above the ceiling. The ceiling is a ceiling. Anything past it is yours, every month, for the length of the lease — and a lease signed in a currency that then moves against the dollar can push a member over one they were under when they signed.
Government quarters. As with BAH, a member assigned government quarters overseas draws no OHA for that period — and unlike BAH, an offer of quarters can be difficult to decline, since availability at the installation is what decides it rather than preference. Ask the housing office where you stand on the list before signing anything on the economy.
DD 2367, with the lease. The Individual Overseas Housing Allowance Report is what starts the payment, filed with the housing office along with your signed lease. It is also what has to be updated when the rent changes, when a dependent arrives or leaves, or when you move — none of which happens by itself.
MIHA is a separate claim. The Move-In Housing Allowance toward making a foreign rental habitable is claimed separately from the monthly allowance, and some of its components need receipts. Ask the housing office which apply at your locality before spending against it.
The housing office, not finance, owns this one. Almost every OHA question is answered at the installation's housing office rather than at finance. They hold the locality data, they approve the lease, and they are the people who can tell you what your ceiling actually is before you sign anything.
| Locality | DTMO code | E-5 with dependents | E-5 without dependents | Utility allowance | Table effective |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alconbury, United Kingdom | GB001 | £1,550 ($2,141) | £1,395 ($1,927) | £831 ($1,148) | 16 July 2026 |
| Ansbach, Germany | DE228 | €1,153 ($1,342) | €1,038 ($1,208) | €999 ($1,163) | 1 August 2026 |
| Aviano, Italy | IT001 | €1,267 ($1,475) | €1,140 ($1,327) | €1,404 ($1,634) | 16 August 2026 |
| Camp Zama, Japan | JP045 | ¥266,667 ($1,676) | ¥240,000 ($1,508) | ¥112,012 ($704) | 1 August 2026 |
| Daegu/Waegwan (incl Camp Carroll, Camp Henry, and Camp Walker), South Korea | KR045 | ₩1,700,000 ($1,279) | ₩1,530,000 ($1,151) | ₩1,068,238 ($804) | 1 September 2026 |
| Dongducheon (incl Camp Casey), South Korea | KR177 | ₩1,622,222 ($1,220) | ₩1,460,000 ($1,098) | ₩1,068,238 ($804) | 1 September 2026 |
| Fairford, United Kingdom | GB251 | £1,972 ($2,724) | £1,775 ($2,452) | £831 ($1,148) | 16 July 2026 |
| Guam, Guam | GU001 | $2,450 | $2,205 | $1,512 | 16 June 2026 |
| Harrogate/Menwith Hill, United Kingdom | GB313 | £1,667 ($2,303) | £1,500 ($2,072) | £831 ($1,148) | 16 July 2026 |
| Hohenfels, Germany | DE230 | €1,650 ($1,921) | €1,485 ($1,729) | €999 ($1,163) | 1 August 2026 |
| Iwakuni, Japan | JP019 | ¥163,000 ($1,024) | ¥146,700 ($922) | ¥112,012 ($704) | 1 August 2026 |
| Kaiserslautern Military Community, Germany | DE700 | €1,600 ($1,863) | €1,440 ($1,676) | €999 ($1,163) | 1 August 2026 |
| Kunsan AB, South Korea | KR070 | ₩1,640,000 ($1,234) | ₩1,476,000 ($1,110) | ₩1,068,238 ($804) | 1 September 2026 |
| Lakenheath/Mildenhall, United Kingdom | GB352 | £1,685 ($2,328) | £1,517 ($2,096) | £831 ($1,148) | 16 July 2026 |
| Livorno (incl Camp Darby), Italy | IT035 | €1,450 ($1,688) | €1,305 ($1,519) | €1,404 ($1,634) | 16 August 2026 |
| Misawa, Japan | JP023 | ¥200,000 ($1,257) | ¥180,000 ($1,131) | ¥112,012 ($704) | 1 August 2026 |
| Moron AB, Spain | ES018 | €1,000 ($1,164) | €900 ($1,048) | €1,052 ($1,225) | 1 August 2026 |
| Naples, Italy | IT055 | €1,728 ($2,012) | €1,555 ($1,810) | €1,404 ($1,634) | 16 August 2026 |
| Okinawa, Japan | JP027 | ¥300,000 ($1,885) | ¥270,000 ($1,697) | ¥112,012 ($704) | 1 August 2026 |
| Osan AB (incl Camp Humphreys), South Korea | KR025 | ₩1,888,889 ($1,421) | ₩1,700,000 ($1,279) | ₩1,068,238 ($804) | 1 September 2026 |
| RAF Croughton, United Kingdom | GB218 | £2,079 ($2,872) | £1,871 ($2,585) | £831 ($1,148) | 16 July 2026 |
| Rota, Spain | ES019 | €1,444 ($1,681) | €1,300 ($1,513) | €1,052 ($1,225) | 1 August 2026 |
| Sasebo, Japan | JP035 | ¥177,778 ($1,117) | ¥160,000 ($1,006) | ¥112,012 ($704) | 1 August 2026 |
| Seoul, South Korea | KR140 | ₩3,525,320 ($2,652) | ₩3,172,788 ($2,387) | ₩1,068,238 ($804) | 1 September 2026 |
| Sigonella, Italy | IT067 | €1,356 ($1,579) | €1,220 ($1,420) | €1,404 ($1,634) | 16 August 2026 |
| Spangdahlem, Germany | DE741 | €1,500 ($1,746) | €1,350 ($1,572) | €999 ($1,163) | 1 August 2026 |
| Stuttgart Military Community, Germany | DE055 | €2,204 ($2,566) | €1,984 ($2,310) | €999 ($1,163) | 1 August 2026 |
| Vicenza (incl Longare), Italy | IT073 | €1,600 ($1,863) | €1,440 ($1,676) | €1,404 ($1,634) | 16 August 2026 |
| Vilseck/Grafenwoehr, Germany | DE231 | €1,944 ($2,263) | €1,750 ($2,037) | €999 ($1,163) | 1 August 2026 |
| Wiesbaden, Germany | DE355 | €2,460 ($2,864) | €2,214 ($2,577) | €999 ($1,163) | 1 August 2026 |
| Yokosuka, Japan | JP061 | ¥222,222 ($1,397) | ¥200,000 ($1,257) | ¥112,012 ($704) | 1 August 2026 |
| Yokota, Japan | JP065 | ¥200,000 ($1,257) | ¥180,000 ($1,131) | ¥112,012 ($704) | 1 August 2026 |
Overseas Housing Allowance (OHA) is what service members receive instead of BAH when they live off base at an OCONUS duty station. The difference that matters is how it is paid. BAH is a flat monthly amount for your paygrade and location — rent for less than your BAH and you keep the difference. OHA is a reimbursement of your actual rent, capped at a ceiling set for your paygrade and locality, so there is no difference to keep. OHA also includes a separate utility and recurring maintenance allowance, and usually a one-time Move-In Housing Allowance (MIHA).
You are paid your actual rent and nothing more — the unused portion of the ceiling is simply never paid. It is not banked, not paid out at the end of the tour, and does not appear anywhere on your LES as a loss, which is why so many members never realize it is happening. A member whose ceiling is $2,400 and who rents at $1,900 forfeits $500 every month, or $6,000 a year. This is the single biggest difference from BAH and the reason it is worth checking your rate before you sign a lease rather than after.
You pay the difference yourself, out of pocket, every month for the length of the lease. There is no supplemental allowance for exceeding the ceiling and no way to claim it back later. Because OHA rates are revised against local rental surveys and exchange rates, a lease that sits right at the ceiling today can fall below it if the rate drops — so leaving a small margin is reasonable, and signing well above the ceiling on the assumption that rates will rise is not.
Purely on the allowance arithmetic, the rent that captures the most benefit is one at or just under your ceiling, because anything below it is forfeited and anything above it comes out of your own pocket. That is not the same as advice to spend to the limit: a smaller place can mean lower utilities beyond the allowance, a shorter commute, or an easier unit to leave at short notice. The point is that renting under your ceiling does not save you money the way renting under BAH does, so it should be a decision about the housing rather than a decision about the budget.
No. The utility and recurring maintenance allowance is a flat monthly amount published by DTMO for your country, in local currency, and it is paid in full regardless of what your utilities actually cost. If your bills come in under the allowance you keep the difference, and if they run over you cover it. It works the way BAH does, which is precisely why it is easy to assume the rental portion works the same way — the rental ceiling, unlike this, reimburses only what you spend.
Move-In Housing Allowance offsets the one-time costs of setting up a home overseas. MIHA/Miscellaneous is a fixed amount for the country, paid without receipts when you move into private housing, and is what this calculator estimates. Two other components exist and are not included here because they are claimed against documented costs: MIHA/Rent covers non-refundable charges required by the lease, and MIHA/Security funds specific security measures in designated areas. Your housing office processes all three.
The rent is apportioned between the members sharing the unit, and each one claims their own share against their own ceiling. Two members splitting a $3,000 apartment each claim $1,500, not $3,000 — so sharing does not let a pair of members collect two full ceilings on one lease. Because each ceiling is set by that member's paygrade, roommates of different ranks can end up with different amounts covered on an identical share.
From the DTMO OHA rate lookup, which asks for your paygrade and locality and returns the current rental ceiling and utility allowance. This calculator quotes those figures for the countries it carries — 7 of them, 189 localities, each shown with the date of the table it came from — and leaves every field editable. For anywhere it has no table, take the figures from the lookup and type them in. DTMO revises the rates as often as twice a month against rental surveys and exchange rates, so check the date beside the figure; your installation housing office holds the final word, and is worth a conversation before signing anything.